Responsible Tourism Week – are you in?

What it is, really, it’s an online discussion hosted by Planeta.com. Another way of putting it: it’s a mash-up that will explore down-to-earth applications of noble concepts like conscious travel, responsible tourism, the local travel movement, and ecotourism – using effective and inexpensive social media like Twitter, Flickr, Slideshare, and Facebook (amongst others).

Responsible Tourism Week is a great opportunity to learn about new initiatives, and it’s an even better virtual venue for networking, for collaborating with old friends, and for making new contacts.

And among its many advantages – it’s free. And, because you can take part without leaving your home (or even straying too far from your laptop, tablet, or smart phone), there are no travelling costs. So no jet lag, overpriced food or bags to pack.

“One of the many barriers to developing any project occurs when the plan does not budget enough time. Add bureaucracy and corruption and you have a recipe for certain failure,” said Planeta.com’s Ron Mader – so it’s not surprising that one of the key objectives of Responsible Tourism Week is to create incentives for continuity. (Read Ron’s article ‘What is the Value of Continuity?’ here).

“Let’s take responsibility now and broaden and deepen our commitment to responsible travel. There’s a grassroots momentum around the world seeking the ways to make encounters more friendly to all. So we’d like to hear what’s been accomplished in the past year and what is in the pipeline for 2012.”

How to Participate

Ron writes: “During the event participants are encouraged to organize a local PhotoSafari and/or Green drinks. (There’s already a meeting on volunteering scheduled in London on February 15.) We recommend such inexpensive get-togethers as a means of introducing responsible tourism to a public that might not use ‘responsible tourism’ in everyday conversation.

“Have fun with this.

“You can announce your event using the Twitter hash tag #rtweek2012 or #responsibletourism and let us know the outcomes.

“Since the discussion takes part on various Web 2.0 platforms, we ask participants to become acquainted with (and register on) Delicious, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube.

“Tag relevant pages and tweets with the hashtag #rtweek2012.

“Prepare something on the ground and online. And be prepared to be surprised and inspired by others!”

And what’s in this for you?

Well, by tweeting, uploading images and videos, chatting and sharing on Facebook and other forums, and by tagging your posts with your destination’s name (and sharing your web address), you’ll be growing your online presence (at virtually no cost) – and this will drive traffic to your site.

What’s in it for the world, though – and for its tourism industry – is something far more important.

It has to do with being generous, with caring for the planet and its inhabitants (human, furry, feathered, and scaly) – and with ensuring our survival.

That’s enough reason for me…

More information

You can take Responsible Tourism Week to any lengths you like – and we’re hoping you’ll be creative. You’ll find all the on line resources you’ll need to guide your thinking here – but if you need more information, please contact Ron Mader editor@planeta.com or visit